How to cook the perfect roast chicken - a chef's tips for getting the best flavour, look and moistness

A roast chicken is a beautiful thing to behold. It has a delicate layer of crackling, golden-brown skin, and holds the promise of succulent, juicy, well-seasoned meat. Often, it's the first thing a person learns to cook, because what could be easier? Season the bird, put it in the oven and, about 45 minutes later, dinner's ready.

All too often, though, it disappoints: either the breast is dry, or the legs are undercooked and pink at the bone. The problem is that the white and dark meats need different cooking times - the breast is leaner and dries out if overcooked, while the legs need a longer time in the oven. If I'm making roast chicken for me and my husband, I carve the legs and breasts from the carcass, lay everything on the pan and then cook them together, taking the pieces from the oven at different times according to when they're done. While this is good for the flavour and texture of the chicken, it doesn't make for pretty presentation, and shouldn't be served to company.

Probably the best way to cook a whole roast chicken is to put it on a rotisserie. Because the heat circulates around the bird as it turns on the spit - not just on the exterior of the bird, but also through the cavity - the chicken stays moist. Unfortunately, most of us don't have a rotisserie in our ovens.

Some cooks swear by brining the bird: dissolve salt and sugar in water, flavour it with herbs and/or spices, then drop the bird in and refrigerate it for several hours. Through osmosis, the flavoured water is sucked into the flesh, making it moister. You have to be careful with this, however, because if it's left in the brine for too long, the bird will be too salty. Some people dislike the texture of brined chicken, saying it resembles ham or other types of cured meat. To avoid dry breast meat, other cooks spread flavoured, softened butter over the meat, but under the skin; or they baste it constantly with the melted drippings.

I've experimented with many ways of cooking roast chicken that will please both white meat and dark meat eaters, and also look attractive when served - and it's still a work in progress. Right now, I'm convinced that one of the simplest methods is the best. I never truss the bird: French chefs may argue with this, because an untrussed chicken doesn't look as nice when cooked, but trussing it draws the legs closer to the body and makes it more compact, which means it takes even longer for the dark meat to be done. Use only medium-sized birds that are about 1.5kg to 2kg.